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About Michael J. Miller

Miller, who was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine from 1991 to 2005, authors this blog for PC Magazine to share his thoughts on PC-related products. No investment advice is offered in this blog. All duties are disclaimed. Miller works separately for a private investment firm which may at any time invest in companies whose products are discussed in this blog, and no disclosure of securities transactions will be made.

EPA Administrator Talks Information Sharing, Hidden Costs of Carbon

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told Fortune Brainstorm Tech today that information sharing was actually the most important tool for improving the environment. She talked about the "community right to know law" and new discussions about the environment on web sites such as Facebook.

Other initiatives she talked about were plans for more energy-efficient housing being built in New Orleans, and the move towards smart grid technology.

Interviewed by the Aspen Institute's Walter Isaacson about why the government wasn't talking about a direct carbon tax and if that was because of political reasons, Jackson seemed to agree, and instead promoted the cap-and-trade plan that seems to be stalled.

She said that even with that law not passed, the EPA has a responsibility to regulate carbon, and said that the EPA is going to start with the largest polluters - coal-fired electrical plants. About 150 of the 1300 plants have real opportunities for efficiency, she said.

Isaacson talked about the costs of carbon showing up in things such as cleaning up the gulf and wars in the Middle East. Jackson said any form of regulation does act as a form of tax, and said that tax is trying to make up for the hidden costs of carbon in our environment. Both agreed that one way or another, we're going to pay for it.

She said one of the big lessons from the BP spill, was that "we weren't ready." She said she wanted the industry and government to be more prepared for such spills. She said she supported a short-term moratorium on drilling, but said that while clean energy in important in the long run, for now we need drilling and the energy it provides. She said the storm seems to be passing over, and the cap is holding.

She said there are clean tech jobs, but they are often to define hard to define, as they range from traditional work being done by chemical engineers to newer things using nantotechnology.

Other issues she talked about include ozone, mercury in fish, soot, etc. She promoted the Clean Air Act, and said air pollution has been cut by 50 to 60 percent in the last 20 years while GDP has grown, mostly by government working with industry.

She also emphasized the problem of e-waste, and challenged the technology issue to create products that are easily recycled and taken apart. She said this would be better than having children in third world countries burning electronics to recover precious metals and materials from such devices. She said companies can actually make money through the recycling process.

A number of people in the audience asked for web sites or guides on products that would tell consumers more about the carbon footprint of individual products. Jackson talked about efforts by companies like Wal-Mart to make this information easier to find out, and by companies like Lowes and Home Depot to help consumers install energy efficiency improvements.

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